The weathervane on the Sultan’s palace pointed north to the mountains and the wind of change blew also in the affairs of his people. The Sultan was persuaded by his Ambassador to improve relations with the king from the north by visiting him in his palace.  It was a long journey which needed careful planning through the mountains where the risk of ambush by bandits could not be ignored.  So the Sultan appointed his Chamberlain to lead the preparation of the trip. The wise Chamberlain weighed up alternative routes and drew a map; took advice from her council; calculated and commissioned supplies; arranged possible camps along the way; and employed porters and other necessary individuals to serve the Sultan on his way and return.

The Chamberlain briefed the Captain of the Bodyguard to lead the caravan. The respected Captain organised and managed the soldiers and the civilian entourage; he determined how much progress might be made each day; he decided when to send scouts ahead and who to send; he delegated control of the advance and rear guards to trusted and brave Lieutenants; and he reported faithfully to the Sultan each morning for any special orders.

On reaching the mountains, the Captain met the Guide and instructed her on what was required. The Guide used her special knowledge of the mountain range and its passes; she warned the drivers where to be particularly careful and made sure they followed her footsteps exactly in the most dangerous parts. More than once they had the Guide to thank for the safety of the caravan.  Late one afternoon, the Guide spotted what could be a group of bandits waiting ahead at a narrow part of the pass.  She reported this immediately to the Lieutenant in charge of the advanced guard.

The brave Lieutenant seized the moment – he decided to ride up the steep slope to outflank the bandits. He sent word to the Captain to halt the rest of the caravan whilst he rode ahead with the advance guard to despatch the would-be ambushers. The Lieutenant swiftly worked out a plan of attack and commanded the men in battle. They caught the bandits by surprise but even so it was a tough fight.  After they had won out, the Lieutenant decided how best to look after the wounded soldiers and how to deal with the bandits they had taken prisoner.

After this incident, the rest of the journey to the foreign capital went smoothly and the Sultan arrived at the king’s city just three days later.  His Herald approached the heavily guarded gates at the head of the caravan and requested confidently in the language of the foreigners that the Sultan be taken to meet their leader. Their gates swung open and the Sultan was well received.

Before the feast that night, the Ambassador sent a message to the Chamberlain to tell her that the Sultan was safe and that diplomacy was already yielding good results: peace and cooperation was assured between the two nations.  On reading the Ambassador’s note, she offered up praise for the leadership that ensured this happy result.

 

Now, what do you think?

Who do you think the wise Chamberlain had in mind as a leader, when she gave thanks?

If you are in a group, you could check whether what you think matches what other people say… or do different people have different opinions?  When you’ve finished working out this puzzle, you might want to:

Return to the section on ‘what is leadership’

Go on to think about who the Local Leaders are?

OR – follow the menu on the right to have a look at other parts of the guide.